Local fitness center offers live training during quarantine

Practicing social distancing doesn’t necessarily mean finishing off a can of Salt and Vinegar Pringles while binge watching Netflix by yourself.

It does seem, however, that isolation and lethargy make comfortable bedfellows - or perhaps “couch-fellows” depending on your level of commitment to even making it out of bed.

Enter Jimmy Mullaney, trainer at Burn Boot Camp in the Nocatee Town Center. Mullaney said he doesn’t believe social isolation has to involve an entire pint of Ben and Jerry’s. In fact, eating well and exercising can be done from home, easily and with accountability, thanks to Burn Boot Camp’s daily dose of fitness via Facebook.

Mullaney has continued training (sans open facility) through the gym’s live, online workouts and over-the-phone nutritional counseling.

Burn Boot Camp, which opened only a few months prior to the pandemic, decided that instead of calling it quits, they were going to do their best to keep the community fit and COVID-19 free.

“(Business) was going really well,” Mullaney said. “(We thought) we can just shut down and suspend everyone's memberships and just wait it out or we can try to keep the momentum going.”

The regular live workouts are posted twice a day, with weekly “challenges,” like drinking half-gallon of water or eating three serving of vegetables a day. Members are encouraged to post selfies after workouts and challenges to keep up motivation for themselves and other group members. Additionally, for those that aren’t previous Burn Boot Camp members, the organization offers a free, two-week trial.

“We found that it’s kind of ironic that all the gyms are closed down and that people now need gyms more than ever,” Mullaney said. “We were running with that idea and we've always done a free 14-day trial. We wanted to open that up to all the residents of St. Johns and Duval counties. We figured it the least we can do because the community has been great to us so far.”

Mullaney said that in addition to the live workouts and interactive videos, the Facebook page offers special kid-centric workouts two-three times a week for parents in need of some “P.E.” time while homeschooling.

“It gets the whole family involved and the feedback has been awesome,” Mullaney said.